A First Time For Everything
by Mistress of Azure
Summary: Konoha gets together for a festival and our favorite genin go to party hardy! Completely random and cute. Pairings: NaruHina, SakuInoSasu, NejiTen, Lee x alcohol


I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! gasp Yes it's true, I have not died! Yet! And here I give you proof – a story!

This is a random Naruto one-shot that I have been wanting to do since like…ever, but I'm such a lazy ass, that my brother had to poke/kick/whip me into finishing it. The couples are Naruto x Hinata, Sakura and Ino x Sasuke, Tenten x Neji, Lee x sake. Yes, the drink.

1-2-3-G-O

Summer was coming to an end in the village of Konoha. Days were getting shorter, and the weather was hot as it had been since June, but when dusk started to fall, a cooling breeze blew through the village and the people of Konoha headed downtown to enjoy the last days of the season. The Transition Festival celebrated the changing of summer to fall and the whole village was sure to turn up for the festivities. It was an ancient tradition in Konoha, a special time when all could give thanks to nature for guiding them safely through another year.

Although, when one considered that a festival had been held four weeks earlier – celebrating the hottest days of the year – and that another festival was to be held four weeks after – celebrating the changing colors of the leaves and the cooling weather – one realized that, like most things the people of Konoha did, this was just another excuse to party.

1-2-3

"So Tenten, who are you going to the festival with?"

Tenten smiled smugly at the younger girls from her position perched on a low wall. "Why, Neji, of course. Who else is worthy of being my escort?"

The three young females were quite busy loitering in the park in the middle of Konoha village. They had been at it all afternoon and weren't prepared to stop anytime soon. Ino and Sakura sat on a bench nearby Tenten. The three of them were chatting happily about the upcoming festival. "What about you two? Who are you taking?"

In unison, Ino and Sakura grinned and responded. "I'm going with Sasuke-kun!" The two turned and glared at each other. "What do you mean you're going with Sasuke? I'm going with him!" Tenten rolled her eyes. Fangirls…in stereo.

"Who's going with me where?"

The two bickering girls looked up to see Sasuke standing over the bench, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino squealed happily. "Silly, to the festival, of course!"

"Yeah!" Sakura cut in. "You're going to be my date, right?"

Sasuke sighed heavily as the two set at each other's throats once again. Quickly and quietly as he could, Sasuke fled to the safety of a nearby tree, settling down to brood like the angsty bishounen he is.

"Sasuke-kun would never go to the festival with a pig like you!" Sakura screeched angrily.

"And you think he'd be seen in public with the Living Forehead?" Ino responded smoothly.

Sakura seethed and opened her mouth to make a come back when a sleek black head popped up over the bench, accompanied by a pair of twitching, bushy black eyebrows.

"INO YAMANAKA! YOU HAVE INSULTED SAKURA-SAN! I CHALLENGE YOU!"

The trio of girls sweatdropped heavily as Rock Lee struck a pose that they assumed was supposed to be threatening.

"Um yeah…ooo-kay…so Tenten, who did you say you were going with, again?" Ino turned away from the overenthusiastic genin, pretending he wasn't there.

"AH HAH! That's right, run from a challenge like the coward you are! You know you can never win! For I have the power of love on my side!" Lee crowed, striking another pose before spinning around to face Sakura, hearts in his eyes. "Sakura-san! Let us go to the festival together! I will make it the most wonderful festival of all! Never in your life will you experience such happiness!"

Sakura laughed nervously. "Uuuh, well I, uhh…" she stammered, edging away from the lovesick boy.

"Hey Ino!"

Ino looked up to see Shikamaru heading their way, looking slightly annoyed. She stood up and waved to them. "Hey Shika, what's up?"

Shikamaru frowned at her. "You ditched training today, Ino. We had to stand around waiting for you for two hours before sensei gave us the day off. What's the deal?"

Ino pouted. "It's too nice of a day to waste it training. Besides, what's the harm in playing hooky every now and then?" she added innocently.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "How troublesome…What are you guys doing anyway?"

"We were talking about the festival." Sakura answered quickly, grateful for an excuse not to talk to Lee. "Are you going, Shikamaru?"

The boy shrugged. "I guess. I go every year. No reason not to."

Ino smirked. "If it's not too troublesome, right?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Women…" he muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, a short distance away, a pair of white-eyed shinobi were walking along a trail through the park.

"Neji-nii-san, I can walk by myself…" Hinata said quietly, glancing up at her older cousin.

"I'm sorry Hinata-sama, but I must protect you, the Hyuga heir." Neji frowned, looking around again, as if a group of assassins were going to jump out of the foliage at any moment. "I mean, what if some…_guy_ comes up to you and asks you out, huh? If I weren't here, who would kick his ass and tell him to get lost? Since you have no older brother, that duty falls to me!" Hinata sweatdropped and shook her head. There was no use arguing with her overprotective cousin when he got like this.

At that moment, Tenten happened to look up as the two Hyugas neared the entrance to the park. "Oooh, look, there's Neji now! Perfect time to ask him to the festival!" Grinning widely, Tenten jumped to her feet and started waving, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "NEEEEEJJJIIIII!"

The Hyuga genius stopped dead in his tracks as the shrill voice rang across the park. A shiver went up his spine as he cleared his throat and started backing away slowly. "Well, Hinata-sama, I think you'll be just fine by yourself so I'm gonnabegoingnowBYE!" Neji spun on his heel and went sprinting in the opposite direction. A moment later, four kunai imbedded themselves in the ground at the exact spot he had been standing a second earlier.

Tenten turned to her companions and grinned. "He must not have heard me." With that, she leapt over the wall and tore after her teammate. "**NEJI HYUGA YOU GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"**

Sweatdropping again, Hinata walked over to join the little group. "Hi…"

Sakura gave her a little wave, still looking at the spot the two shinobi had disappeared from moments before. "I wonder how long he'll be able to outdistance her…"

Rock Lee spoke up at that moment. "Neji has more endurance, but Tenten can beat him in a sprint. If he can keep ahead long enough, he might make it."

Suddenly, a young blonde woman popped out of nowhere with money in hand. "I bet ten bucks on Neji!"

The group jumped away from her in alarm. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

The woman smiled. "I'm Tsunade!"

Sakura spoke up. "Uh…do we know you?"

"Nah, you won't meet me for another eighty episodes or so."

"Oh."

With that, the woman did a few hand seals – "FOURTH WALL NO JUTSU!" – and vanished in a poof of smoke.

There was a long pause.

"Hey guys!" The uncomfortable silence was broken as Naruto jogged up to the group, waving. "What's up? I saw Neji and Tenten running towards town. What happened?"

The group sweatdropped in unison. "Hormones."

Naruto looked confused, but shrugged it off. "So what are you guys talking about?"

"We're talking about the festival. Are you going, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned. "Of course I am! I go every year! They have all the best games there! You guys are going, right?"

"Yeah!" Sakura and Ino both responded. "I'm taking Sasuke-kun!" Lightning shot from their eyes as each one attempted to glare the other into submission.

Naruto sweatdropped and turned to Hinata. "What about you Hinata? Are you gonna go?"

Hinata blushed as she realized Naruto was talking to her. "Um, well…I uh…wasn't planning on it…I've never gone before…"

"Aw, c'mon Hinata! It won't be as fun without you!"

Hinata blushed deeper at these words. _'N-naruto-kun…implied that he wouldn't have fun without me! Hell…that's as good as a date in my book!'_ "O-okay…I guess I could come…."

1-2-3

"Sooo…did Sasuke ever get around to rejecting the two of you?"

Tenten, Sakura and Ino were heading up the main street of Konoha towards where the festival was taking place. They were all dressed up for the event. Sakura sashayed along the sidewalk in her cherry-blossom patterned yukata while Ino walked beside her, her outfit purple with brightly colored flower details.

"And what do you mean by THAT!" Ino growled in annoyance.

"Yeah, just because Sasuke didn't exactly _choose_ one of us, I could still tell that he wanted to go with me!"

"YOU!"

Tenten laughed at the two younger girls. "So how come he went running off shortly after, hmm?

"Not my fault this pig scared him off…" Sakura mumbled under her breath. "But he'll be there, you watch."

"I heard that!" Ino screeched before rounding on Tenten. "And what about your supposed date, huh? He didn't exactly look too eager before, did he?"

Tenten laughed again and brushed a speck of dust off one of the kunais on the pattern of her lilac yukata. "You just don't understand Neji like I do. He may have been running, but he's really the one doing the chasing."

Sakura and Ino shared a skeptical look. "How do you figure _that_?"

Tenten gave them a haughty smirk before answering. "It's called 'playing hard to get'. You'll see, once we get there, he'll be tripping over himself to come meet me. Yes, you'll see…you'll see..." Tenten then succumbed to a bout of maniacal laughter, which earned her some odd looks from passerby and a couple of sweatdrops from her companions.

The three of them arrived at the festival grounds and started looking around for the rest of their little group. Ino and Sakura, with their amazing Sasuke Fangirl Vision (™), were able to quickly pick him out of the crowd and rushed over to him. "SASUKE-KUUUN! There you are!"

Sasuke jumped slightly and gave an annoyed glare at the two squealing girls who had interrupted his brooding. "…hmph."

Sakura smiled happily at Sasuke. "Ooh Sasuke-kun, you look really nice tonight!"

Ino nodded, scooting a little closer to the boy. "Yes, you look totally great!"

Sakura moved closer to Sasuke as well. "You look simply dashing!"

Ino shoved her competitor to the side. "Positively ravishing!"

The girls glared fiercely at each other. Sasuke sighted and covered his ears before the yelling could begin.

"WONDERFUL!"

"FANTASTIC!"

"FABULOUS!"

"GORGEOUS!"

"AMAZING!"

"BRILLIANT!"

"STUNNING!"

"PERFECT!"

"Gone."

"Huwha?"

The two girls turned to see who had spoken. Lee stood there, looking rather, uh…well, let's just say, he was wearing a yukata in bright…luminescent, uh…a rather eye-catching shade of radioactive neon green, with a pink cherry blossom border. He was also struggling with a bouquet of roses that was almost as big as he was.

He grinned widely at the girls. "If you're looking for Sasuke, he left a while ago."

"WHAT!"

"But fear not Sakura-san! For I, the proud green beast of Konoha, am here to save the day! I shall make sure you have the most wonderful time at this festival, WITHOUT the unpleasant company of that dull Sasuke! I humbly offer these flowers to you, Sakura-san, as a token of my great affection!" With this, Lee fell to one knee and held the flowers up to Sakura.

Or, he would have, except Sakura was long gone by that point.

"**SAKURA-SAAAAAN!"**

Tenten nearly collapsed in a laughing fit as Rock Lee sprinted off into the crowd in search of his love, still dragging along the enormous bouquet. "It's not funny!" Sakura whined as she appeared from behind Shikamaru, who had just arrived and was quite confused as to why he was being utilized as a human shield.

"Yes, Sakura." Tenten managed between giggles. "Yes, it is."

"Um, would mind _not_ using me as cover?" Shikamaru asked Sakura in his usual bored drawl.

"Heh heh, sorry bout that, Shikamaru." Sakura laughed in embarrassment. She stepped up next to Ino, who was staring at Shikamaru with faint distaste.

"Shika…what are you _wearing_?"

Shikamaru blinked and looked down at his attire. He was wearing a yukata like the rest of them; however, his was a plain, rather drab shade of beige. It was slightly wrinkled, as if it had been dragged out from the depths of his closet just ten minutes before he had left the house. Which, as a matter of fact, it had. "What about it? I thought it would be okay to dress up for the occasion…"

"You call THAT 'dressing up'! You look like you're covered in dirty laundry!"

Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes as he wandered away to a nearby food stand, muttering to himself. The girls could make out a few phrases, such as "Girls and their clothes…" "No pleasing 'em…" and "How troublesome".

Meanwhile, the Hyuga cousins were heading down the street toward the festival crowds. Neji walked a little ahead, wearing a formal black yukata with the Hyuga crest decorating the back. He was talking rapidly to Hinata, lecturing her in his overprotective manner. "And don't talk to anyone you don't know, and don't take things from strangers, and don't follow anyone off the festival grounds, and stay with me at all times, and don't waste your money on those game booths, they're nasty crooks and the games are all rigged, I swear, and…"

Hinata sighed and fidgeted with her yukata, which was also formal, but was patterned with dark purple flowers and a bright lavender trim. "Neji-nii-san…I'll be fine, I can take care of myself, _really_…" She wasn't used to these big party-type events, but she really wasn't nervous about the festival at all. She was actually looking forward to it. The only part she was nervous about was _who_ was going to be there.

'_Naruto-kun…'_ Hinata smiled dreamily to herself as she imagined her crush. Tonight was going to be great, she assured herself. She was going to her first Konoha festival, she was going to hang out with her friends, and Naruto-kun was going to be there. Despite her shyness and her insanely protective cousin, she was going to have a fun time with Naruto-kun…as long as she didn't do something stupid and embarrassing, like trip, or say something dumb, or fidget too much, or spill something, or mess up really bad at a game, or…oh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…

Neji gave his cousin a stern look. "Now Hinata-sama, you know you are the heir to the Hyuga clan. Think how many dangers could await you in the crowds of this festival. Why there could be kidnappers, or assassins, or even _boys_…"

Hinata sighed again. "Neji-nii-san! Both of my teammates are boys, and you don't have any problems with them, so why can't I hang out with my friends?"

Neji huffed. "The only reason I tolerate those teammates of yours is because you have your sensei there at all times to supervise. But in social situations, I have to pick up that slack. Trust me, Hinata-sama, this is no small matter. You should _never_ underestimate the terrifying power of hormones."

As if on cue, a joyful squeal erupted from a small crowd nearby. The hair on the back of Neji's neck prickled uncomfortably, and Neji quickly stepped behind Hinata. "Oh look, there's your friends, you'd better go meet up withthemI'lljustbeoverhereBYE!" With these parting words, the Hyuga bravely turned tail and fled, seconds before Tenten rushed past Hinata, just steps behind the genius.

Hinata watched them for a moment with a sense of deja vu before turning and heading over to where her friends were. Ino and Sakura waved happily at Hinata before sharing a wicked smile and prancing over to the shy girl.

"Sooo, Hinata-chan," Ino began slyly, slinging her arm around the shorter girl's shoulders, "Where's your _boyfriend_, huh?"

"Wha-wha-what?" Hinata stammered, looking confused.

"Oh, you know what we're talking about," Sakura cooed, joining Ino by Hinata's side. "Where's _Naaarutooo_?"

"He's n-not my b-b-boyfr-!" Hinata blushed and tried to deny the accusations. Sakura and Ino shared another evil grin.

"Oh _really_?" Sakura responded skeptically.

"Come on, Hinata-chan, don't deny it," Ino practically purred. "We know about you and him."

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan," Sakura piped up, "We won't tell…as long as we get to be your bridesmaids!"

Hinata let out a small squeak and continued vainly trying to dissuade the older girls taunts. Nearby, Shikamaru was watching this episode, and decided that it would be less troublesome in the long run to just help Hinata out.

"Yeah, see you later Sasuke." Shikamaru drawled, loud enough for the girls to hear. Sure enough, Ino and Sakura whipped around.

"Sasuke? Sasuke was here! Where did he go!" Not waiting for a reply, the two dashed off into the throng of festivalgoers. Hinata took a deep breath and turned to her fellow genin. Bowing gratefully, she started to thank him.

"Thank you for rescuing me-"

"Hey Naruto."

Naruto trotted up the street, waving back to Shikamaru. "Hey Shikamaru, where's every…one…" Naruto slowed and cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Hey Hinata, what are you doing?" he asked the girl who was crouching behind Shikamaru, not noticing the boy's obvious annoyance at once again being used as a human shield.

Hinata jumped slightly and straightened up, brushing off her yukata nervously. "I, uh, uh…"

"She dropped something." Shikamaru supplied helpfully. "The other's have already gone ahead. Let's go."

Naruto grinned. "Okay! Come on Hinata, let's go!" With that, he grabbed her hand, oblivious of her furious blushing, and dragged her into the midst of the festivities.

1-2-3

Meanwhile, Sakura and Ino had managed to capture their quarry, and were currently steering him around the carnival area.

"Ooh, let's go play that game, Sasuke-kun!" Ino squealed happily, pointing out a dart game nearby.

"No, let's try this one, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura urged, gesturing to the ring toss they were standing next to.

Sasuke scowled in annoyance at being tugged in two directions. Searching the crowds desperately for some sort of escape, he noticed a familiar tuft of blonde hair darting through the crowds. Looking closer, his suspicions were confirmed as he saw Naruto weaving between the other festivalgoers, dragging along a girl that Sasuke recognized as a Hyuga. What was her name again? In any case, Naruto was chattering happily, and the girl looked rather flustered. Glancing around, Sasuke spotted the Nara genius nearby as well.

Sensing an opportunity to distract his captors, the disgruntled genin wasted no time in pointing out their comrades. "Look, it's Naruto and…" _'What **is** her name?'_ "…Shikamaru. Let's go join them."

Ino and Sakura looked up from their glaring contest to see Naruto and Hinata walking hand in hand (i.e., Naruto dragging Hinata down the street) and an evil glint came to their eyes. Sasuke shivered for a second before realizing that whatever sadistic plans the girls had, it was not meant for him.

"Ooh Hinaaata!" Sakura and Ino called out in singsong voices laced with sweetness. Still dragging Sasuke, the two pranced over to the booth where the others were chatting. Hinata glanced up and waved shyly, looking a little frightened as the older girls grinned at her and pulled her aside.

"Hinata, you sly little girl," Ino purred happily, "Making your move on him already, eh?"

"W-what do you mean…" Hinata stammered, blushing instinctively.

Sakura tutted and shook her head. "Don't think we didn't see you, hanging onto his hand like that. You vixen, didn't know you had it in you!"

Hinata's blush deepened. "It wasn't like that-!"

"Oh quit tormenting her, you two. If anymore blood rushes to her face, she'll pass out."

Hinata's antagonists looked up guiltily. Tenten was walking towards the group, arm in arm, so to speak, with the captured Neji.

Naruto looked up and grinned as the pair arrived. "Looks like everyone's here! Is anyone else coming?"

"Choji couldn't come, his family has a food booth." Shikamaru spoke up.

"Kiba-kun said he didn't want to come because Akamaru misbehaves at parties, and Shino-kun, um…Shino-kun can't stand the citronella candles." Hinata piped in as well.

There was a short silence as everyone took a moment to mentally tally their groups.

"Well," Tenten said cheerfully, "Guess that's everyone!"

1-2-3

On the far side of the festival grounds, Lee had long since abandoned all hope of finding his precious Sakura-san. He had spent the last fifteen minutes wandering around, and had also realized that he could not find any other members of the group. Disheartened and lonely, Lee had abandoned his monster bouquet in a trashcan somewhere and continued wandering aimlessly. As the rest of the group was gathering over by the games, Lee passed a sake booth.

1-2-3

At that moment, Neji shivered slightly. _'Something very bad is about to happen…'_ he thought, looking around cautiously, before shrugging it off. _'It probably won't affect me, whatever it is.'_

Naruto grinned again. "Okay, let's go play a game then!" The group glanced around for a moment, trying to find an interesting booth, when suddenly, Tenten shrieked with joy.

"_THAT ONE!_" Still clinging to Neji, she dragged him over to a booth where a stack of bottles and a pile of balls awaited them.

Arriving at the booth, Tenten raided Neji's coin purse for the necessary payment, and then shoved her teammate at Ino, who was the closest to her at the time. "Here, hold this." She gave the money to the vendor, but refused the balls offered her. "I've got my own," she answered with an evil smirk. Reaching into the sleeves of her yukata, she pulled out two scrolls.

Neji's eyes widened at this sight. "**_TAKE COVER!_**" he shouted, diving to the ground.

"TWIN RISING DRAGONS, FESTIVAL STYLE!" Tenten leapt into the air with her scrolls. The group had only moments to contemplate the meaning of this before the chaos began.

"**_AAAAAIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!_**"

Balls flew in every conceivable direction, ricocheting and flying around, causing general panic amongst the nearby crowds. People screamed and scrambled for cover, trying to avoid the lethal, bouncy attacks. The vendor of the game booth screeched and dove under the counter as every ball managed to find its way back to the booth and smashed noisily into the target.

As the dust cleared a few minutes later, the bottles lay shattered on the ground, and the balls were nowhere to be seen.

Shaking, the vendor slowly stood up and hastily shoved the largest prize at Tenten – a huge serpentine dragon plushie. "H-h-here…just take it…p-please…"

"Yay, I won!" Tenten huggled the doll for a moment, then shoved it at Neji. "Hold this for me." Neji stumbled under the weight of the dragon, glaring ruefully at it.

Sasuke smirked at this scene. "How interesting."

At this comment, Ino and Sakura perked up. Sasuke had only been commenting on Tenten's attack, but silly fangirls that they were, Sakura and Ino immediately assumed he was referring to the doll. Well, that's what _they_ would be talking about, after all.

"Hey Sasuke-kun, I can get one for you if you want!" Without waiting for an answer, the two girls immediately dashed over to the booth and started shelling out cash. Moments later, they were throwing balls left and right, glaring and snarling at each other the whole time.

There was a collective sweatdrop among the group as they watched this spectacle. As the battle dragged on, the others wandered around the nearby area, finding various ways to amuse themselves. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and drifted away to look at some other booths while Sasuke found a nice wall to lean against while he brooded. Neji grumbled and shifted the dragon plushie in annoyance as Tenten went on and on about something.

Naruto watched the game with great amusement. Hinata stood a bit away from the rest of the group, content to linger in the shadows and watch Naruto.

Five minutes later, Sakura and Ino walked away from the booth dejectedly. Their coin purses empty, they cradled the small consolation prize they'd each been given and nursed their wounded pride. This distraction gone, Naruto glanced around to see what the others were doing, and happened to notice Hinata standing off to the side by herself. He frowned at this. The girl didn't seem to be having much fun at the festival, a fact that shocked Naruto. How could anyone _not_ have fun at a festival!

Struck by a burst of inspiration, Naruto walked over to the booth and slapped some money on the counter, a determined look in his eyes.

1-2-3

"Sasuke-kun, look what I won for you!"

Sasuke frowned and opened one eye, wondering what new annoyance he would be forced to deal with now. Sakura and Ino were standing in front of him, smiling sheepishly and holding up tiny plush frogs as if they were offerings. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at these meager gifts, wondering what he was expected to do with them. For a moment, he considered just refusing them. But, taking a leaf from Shikamaru's book, he decided it would be easier to just take them now and dispose of them later. "Uh…thanks…" he said as he reached for the miniscule toys and pocketed them. There was a moment of silence among the trio. Then Sasuke coughed and walked away, rolling his eyes at the two shrieks of joy behind him.

"Eee! He took them! He likes them!"

"I know! He totally liked the gift I gave him!"

"_You_ gave him? I gave him one too!"

"Yeah, but he took mine first. He just took yours to be nice."

"_WHAT DID YOU SAY!"_

1-2-3

Hinata watched from a distance as Naruto attempted the bottle game. He wasn't half bad either. He was probably trying to win a prize for Sakura. Hinata sighed. It was no secret that Naruto had a bit of a crush on Sakura. Then again, her own crush was no secret as well…it seemed the only person who _didn't_ know was Naruto himself. Hinata sighed again and wondered if she'd ever work up the courage to tell him. _'Probably not'_, she thought sadly.

"Hey Hinata." She looked up as Shikamaru approached, shaking her out of her reverie. "We're all gonna go get something to eat now. Coming?"

"Oh, um, sure…" She followed him back to where the rest of the group was gathered. Glancing around, she noticed that one of their group was still missing. "Oh, where's…?"

"Alright, I'm here!" Turning, she saw Naruto running up to their group.

"Great! Let's go eat." Sakura said cheerfully, as she and Ino led the group towards the food booths. Hinata started to follow, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, hold up a sec Hinata." Hinata blushed as Naruto pulled her aside. "I noticed you weren't really hanging out with the others, and it didn't look like you were having much fun, so uh…" He pulled something out from behind his back and handed it to her. It was a large, fluffy white rabbit plushie. "I won this for you! I thought it would cheer you up!" He grinned. "You like it?"

Hinata blushed furiously as she took the doll. It was soft to the touch and totally adorable. She hugged it to her chest and opened and closed her mouth a few times before answering. "I-I-I love it! You g-got this for m-_me_?" she stammered in disbelief. Naruto had done all that for _her_? It was too good to be true. If Neji was right and there were assassins waiting for her around the corner, she would die happy.

Naruto laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm glad you like it! I worked hard for that thing. That vendor is a con artist!" He made a face, then suddenly stopped, looking slightly embarrassed. He stared at her for a minute, and then smiled gently. "I'm glad."

Hinata blushed deeper and felt light headed. They stood in silence for a moment, then Naruto laughed and grabbed her hand again. "Come on, they're probably already eating without us!" Once again, Hinata let herself be dragged along, smiling blissfully at the back of Naruto's head. The evening was turning out to be a good one after all.

1-2-3

A few minutes later the group sat down with their food at one of the picnic tables that was set up, laughing and talking happily amongst themselves. There was a brief peace for the group. The key word being "brief".

"HEEEY GUYS!" Everyone looked up to see who had called them, and Tenten dropped her chopsticks.

"Oh…no…"

Lee was staggering towards them, sake bottle in one hand, hair disheveled, and quite obviously drunk off his ass.

Lee swayed his way over to the group taking periodic drinks from the bottle held loosely in his hand. Arriving at the table, Lee took a deep drink from his bottle and slammed it down on the table, creating a huge dent of splintered wood. He grinned at the group. "Wassup?"

Everyone gaped at the drunk genin in shock. As one, they turned to look at Neji, who gave them all a mutinous glare. "What do you want _me_ to do about it!" As this was going on, Lee was clumsily climbing onto the table, falling off a couple times before making it. The others continued to stare at Neji as Lee began singing a made up love song to Sakura. Finally Neji sighed angrily and stood up. "Oh _fine_!"

"Oh, you wanna fight, eh pal? Eh? EH!" Lee fell into a fighting stance, tripped, and fell off the table again. As he attempted to scramble to his feet, Neji walked over and kicked him swiftly in the head. Lee probably would have seen stars, if he wasn't already seeing pink elephants.

They all stared at Lee as he rambled incoherently for a few moments before Tenten stood up. "Well, we'd better take him somewhere…"

"We'll take him to Gai-sensei's. Let him take care of the drunk." Neji responded, hauling his teammate up onto his back. "Come on, Tenten." Tenten sighed and walked over to Neji, dumping the giant dragon doll in his arms as well. Neji nearly collapsed under the weight and started to protest, but Tenten had already started walking away. Grumbling, he hurried to catch up.

"Well, we'd better start heading home as well…" Shikamaru said, standing up as well. The others followed, gathering their things and throwing away their plates. They walked as a group across the festival grounds, and stopped when they reached the main road to say their farewells as they parted ways for the night. Ino and Shikamaru went one way, since their houses were close together, and Sakura and Sasuke also left together.

"Don't worry Ino, I'll take good care of Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called out, laughing as she grabbed Sasuke's arm and dragged him away. Ino made a rude gesture before turning on her heel and storming away.

After that only Hinata and Naruto were left. They started to head home when suddenly Naruto stopped. "Hey Hinata! They're gonna set off the fireworks soon! Wanna go watch before we go home?"

"Um, uh…well…" Hinata thought about this for a moment. It was night. There were fireworks. She was alone. With Naruto.

She almost fainted then and there.

'**_Oh come on. Just go watch the freaking fireworks! It's completely innocent and harmless! Jeez, how pathetic, getting all worked up over nothing…'_ **Hinata winced as her mind yelled at her.

_'Hey, give me a break. Aren't you supposed to be on my side?'_

'_**I AM on your side…the side that's not a WUSSY!'**_

_'That's not very nice…'_

'_**The truth rarely is, sweetheart. Now say YES already!'**_

"Um, sure…okay."

"Great!" Naruto grabbed her hand and, for the third time this evening, dragged her off. "I know the perfect place where we can get a great view!"

A few minutes later, they arrived at the bridge near the training area. The walked to the middle of the bridge and looked out over the water. Hinata gasped at the view. Standing on the bridge looking down the river, the Hokage monument rose over Konoha framed by trees. The moon hung high in the sky above them, casting it's pale light over the carved faces. In just minutes, the fireworks would be set off above the giant statue, illuminating the sky. Naruto was right – it was the perfect place.

'_**The perfect place to KISS, mmm?'**_

'_Shut up you!'_ Hinata hissed at herself forcefully, but it was too late. The thought had been planted.

Blushing, she hugged the rabbit doll he had given her and joined him leaning against the bridge's railing. He was talking about something, but for once Hinata wasn't listening. She looked down into the flowing water below, deep in thought.

'Now would be the perfect time to tell him…he's been so nice to me tonight…I'm not going to get another chance like this…but what if he rejects me?'

She turned and took a long look at Naruto. He was staring up at the moon in expectation of the coming fireworks, talking excitedly. He really was wonderful…far better than she deserved. He could never like a girl like her. She was just a shy, dark weirdo, while he was so outgoing, so brave, so…

'_**Yummy.'**_

'SHUSH!' 

'**Come ON! Just go for it! Make your move! There's no way you'll know unless you try! SEIZE THE DAY, er…NIGHT!'**

'But how can I tell him? I mean, I can't just come out and say it…' 

'_**Oh for the love of – KISS HIM!'**_

'What!' 

'**Did I STUTTER? I said kiss him! You know, that thing that people do where they press their lips together and GET BUSY!'**

Hinata blushed furiously. _'I can't do that!'_

'_**Yes you can! Just do it!'**_

The force of her own inner self was so strong that Hinata actually moved closer to Naruto. Her arm brushed against his involuntarily. Naruto turned and smiled at her and she quickly glanced away.

"I think it's about to start now." Hinata just nodded slightly as he turned to look back up at the sky.

'_**That's it girl, you can do it! MAKE ME SOME BABIES!'**_

'Now wait just a minute…' 

The two of them bickered for a moment longer before coming to a compromise. _'Just a peck on the cheek…'_ Hinata thought, looking up at him again. Summoning up all of her courage, Hinata stood up straighter and leaned toward him. She hesitated slightly and squeezed her eyes shut, slowly leaning closer.

At that moment, there was a muffled noise in the distance. "Hey!" Naruto exclaimed as he turned to look at his companion, "Look, it's start-"

The first firework exploded above the monument in a shower of gorgeous gold sparks…not that the two on the bridge noticed. They were far too involved in their own personal crises.

'OH MY GOD I JUST KISSED NARUTO-KUN. OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD…' Hinata's brain felt like it was overheating. This definitely did not go like she had planned. 

Inner Hinata, however, was another story. **_'VICTORYYY!'_**

Naruto, on the other hand, was simply trying desperately to wrap his brain around what was happening.

The kiss was brief and they both broke away after only a few seconds. There was a long uncomfortable silence between them as the fireworks exploded in the background. Finally, unable to bear the silence anymore, Naruto coughed lightly. "Um, so…we should be getting home now…um, you…you want me to walk you home?" Hinata nodded mutely, unable to meet his eye. The two headed back across the bridge and down to the main street. By this time everyone was watching the fireworks and they were alone as they walked toward the Hyuga estate. Naruto attempted to start conversation a few times before giving up and settling into awkward silence again. Hinata was again deep in internal debate.

'OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD…' 

'**Oh lord, suck it up. You won! You did it! Hail the conquering hero, la da da da da da…'**

'_Oh, SHUT UP.'_ For once, Hinata's inner voice obliged and was silent.

As they approached the main gates of the Hyuga estate, Hinata got more and more anxious. The whole night had been a disaster. She had freaked out when she saw Naruto - minus. He hadn't seemed to notice or mind - plus. Ino and Sakura's taunts had reduced her to a rambling mess - minus. Naruto had held her hand - plus. Lee had ruined any possibility of a peaceful dinner - minus. Naruto had won a doll for her - plus.

The kiss - big, big minus.

At last they stood before the main gates. Naruto spoke up again. "Well, here we are." They lapsed into another uncomfortable silence.

Finally, Hinata found her voice. "Well, I-I should be going now…um…g-goodnight…" Naruto didn't respond, and after a moment of hesitation, Hinata turned and started walking toward the gates. A tear finally escaped and ran down her cheek. _'Well, that's it…Naruto-kun will never speak to me again…'_

At that moment, the sound of quick footsteps came from behind her. A hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her. Hinata was unable to move as a pair of soft lips brushed her cheek. "Yeah…see you tomorrow…" Naruto turned and was gone before she could see his light blush.

Hinata stood in shock for a long moment. In a daze, she made her way into the Hyuga compound. _'Did that…really just…happen?'_

This thought was confirmed as her inner self proceeded to throw a party inside her head. **_'FOR! THE! WIN!'_**

'_Yeah…'_ Hinata responded, still stunned by what had happened. Naruto…had…kissed her. PLUS. PLUSPLUSPLUS!

1-2-3

THE NEXT DAY

"So Hinaaataaa, what happened with you and Naruto last night?" Sakura crooned.

"Yeeeaaah, we saw you guys leave together. Spill the beans! Did you guys go make out or something?" Ino teased.

Hinata blinked at them for a moment, then smiled mysteriously. "Yeah…" Humming happily, she turned and walked away as the two girls took this in.

"…what?"

1-2-3-G-O

There! There it is! Are you happy now?

…that's right bitch. You better be grateful.

Anyway, I also have another random Naruto fic that I am starting now called "Inner Konoha." It's basically the other characters inner selves. You got a preview of Hinata's in this story.

And I've not abandoned my other stories either! Though some of them may soon meet an ugly fate at the hands of the "Chainsaw of Natural Selection"…more on that on my profile! XD


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